About

Meet SunMade Cheese! This tasty cheese plate is really a solar panel plus an array of solar powered accessories. There’s a brie cheese USB port and connector for the milk bottle power bank, a swiss cheese speaker, a ricotta lantern, and a caciocavallo cheese plasma lighter.

The cheese plate collects energy from the sun and stores it in the milk bottle power bank. Embedded magnets and special connectors attach the milk bottle to each of the cheeses and bring them to life.

Cheese Plate

A solar panel on one side, cheese plate on the other. The panel generates 5 volts at 1.2 amps — enough power to charge a smartphone as quickly as a wall charger. Hang it from a window, a shoulder bag, a backpack or anywhere there is the sun! The solar panel itself does not store energy. Connect your smartphone or the power bank through USB cable to save energy. Or, you can simply plug Solar Milk into the panel and adjust to a 5, 30, or 60 degree angle to get optimal sun exposure.

USBrie

The non- detachable brie cheese does double duty as a USB port and a customized power bank connector. Simply remove the brie cover to connect with the Solar Milk.

Connect the Solar Milk to any of the cheese modules to operate. The power bank features an on-off switch so you never have to worry about losing power when not in use.

This bluetooth speaker and radio cleverly hides its backlit LED buttons in “eyes” of the cheese. The bottom size of the speaker is connected to an auxiliary custom solar panel or hand crank magnetically.

A flashlight or a mood light. The cheese module transforms into both when combined with the Solar Milk. Set the Ricotta Torch facing down and light sensors automatically switch it to mood light mode, and the light diffuses upwards through the handle. Press a button on the Solar Milk to adjust the intensity of the light.

This plasma lighter is 100% sustainable, wind-proof, odorless, flameless, and 100% rechargeable. Use it for candles, incense or even a campfire. A safety feature ensures that the lighter only operates when the buttons on the Solar Milk and the cheese itself are both engaged.

For your convenience, the embedded magnets connect all of the modules to the power bank seamlessly. This way you never have to worry about fragile plastic attachments.

The Solar Plate, Cacio-cavallo Kindler, and Ricotta Torch are attracted to the Solar Milk with magnets. The Swiss Note also utilizes magnetic power, but in a slightly different way. Insert the Solar Milk into the Swiss Note. The magnets push the milk bottle battery out easily. The smart magnet design eliminates the need for complicated structures that are often prone to breakage. Using magnets is a smarter, more durable, and sustainable choice.

The shoulder bag in the video is the packaging that SunMade Cheese will be delivered in. Please don’t throw away our packaging! We are proud that our packaging is not single-use and it is meant to be used time and again. It’s simple to transform the package into a bag that you can attach your cheese plate to. Made of compressed cardboard, it's light, durable and well-designed. We used an artificial Italian leather for the handle for a touch of luxury.

One of YOLK’s core values is “Solar for Everyone”. In line with that philosophy, the team prepared for this project by delivering and installing a Solar Cow at a primary school in Pokot, Kenya and gave power banks that can be charged from the Solar cow to the students.

Solar Cow is made to solve very specific problem, Child Labor. In Sub-Saharan Africa child labor prevents one in five children from attending school. That’s twice the global average. Because the Child Labor is deeply related to economic aspects, the Solar Cow is devised as a way to reward children for going to school and their parents for sending them. When kids arrive at school in the morning they just attach their batteries where the cow’s udders would be. At the end of the school day they can leave with a full supply of valuable electricity. With the Solar Cow, family can save 10~20% of their income they were used to spend for charging cell phone and kerosene. The most important part is that parents must send their children to the school to get the free electricity because the school is where the source of electricity is.

YOLK is pleased to announce that, for every SunMade Cheese pledge, we will donate 1 Solar Milk Power Bank to a child in East Africa.

The SunMade Cheese project is more about enjoying solar power and promoting education for solar technology, but the Solar Cow is really a lifeline for people. They are two projects for two different perspectives, but combined in one initiative.

The milk produced by cows sustains life, and our solar cow sustains education. We loved the idea of using the cow as a symbol to show our commitment to sustainability and philosophy of ‘Solar for all’.

Cheese is a perfect link for the Solar Cow and a great way for us to connect the two projects. When we started the Solar Cow project, we focused on sustainability and the cheese part naturally followed. Not only because cheese is made from milk, but because it’s a casual thing. Almost everyone loves cheese, it’s kind of a mundane thing that is a part of everyday life. I thought it would be a great way to connect the two projects as well as bring coherence and harmony.

The Solar Cow can be a powerful solution where electricity is essential due to the usage of cell phone but the cost of electricity is highly expensive compared to income and living expenses. YOLK chose the East Africa based on those elements.

The problems of child labor, education, and energy infrastructure are complex and widespread in developing nations. Usually each problem is addressed separately. However, YOLK recognizes that these three problems are deeply intertwined. By creating the Solar Cow project, YOLK is able to chip away at each of these problems simultaneously. YOLK believes that creative solutions based on love and dedication can result in real change. But, we need your help. Let’s do it together.

You can only select one reward per Kickstarter regulations. However, you can add additional products in a piece-meal fashion to your order by using the add-on menu. You can order multiple items by doubling, tripling, or etc. Make sure to increase your pledge amount to reflect the price of the additional items plus your original reward.

** If your reward is “Solar Milk “or “Solar Milk + Cheese plate” you can add any 'add on' item(s) but Cheese platter or Extra Milk & Cheese platter. Please make sure to choose those "Platters" as your reward and then other smaller amount of add-on.

YOLK innovates solar energy through design. We aim to make special products that have the potential to change the world. Our courage to take on new challenges comes from the Backers who support our initiatives.

CEO Sen Chang founded YOLK in 2015 after graduating from the Art Institute of Chicago with a BFA in designed objects. YOLK’s first two projects, the Solarade and Solar Paper focused on creating lightweight and portable designs that make it easy to incorporate solar power into everyday life. YOLK wants to expand this vision by making solar power accessible and attractive to everyone. YOLK believes that innovation in sustainability is the future. SunMade Cheese and the Solar Cow are just the first step towards making this vision a reality.

In 2015, YOLK created a Kickstarter campaign for Solar Paper, the world’s thinnest and lightest solar panel. Raising over a million dollars through 6,000 backers, Solar Paper was featured in over 300 media, and won the 2017 CES Innovation Award. Check out feedback from previous backers!

Risks and challenges

This is YOLK ‘s 3rd Kickstarter project. We successfully delivered what we promised to our Solarade and Solar Paper backers on time and we will do the same for backers of SunMade Cheese. However, component delays and unexpected shortages can happen. This is our most complicated project yet as it includes multiple devices. In the event of a delay, we will inform you and do our best to solve the problem.